UtahMountainMan
Active Member
- Messages
- 246
Guys whats up. I have not posted much lately. But I wanted to get on here to ask for a little advice on elk calling as well as share my elk hunting story from 2 seasons ago in hopes I can finally get over my experience and maybe help someone else who may be going through the same thing.
In 2012, I applied in New Mexico for a really good quality archery elk tag that I had about 7% odds of drawing. It as my first time really applying out of state and I told my wife when I applied that hopefully within 5 years I draw a tag. I could NOT believe it when I get the email saying I had successfully drawn! I had never had a premium tag in my hand and I was ecstatic!!! This would be my first time hunting a big bull during the rut with my bow. I have killed a few spikes and cows with my bow in Utah but never had a big bull tag.
For the next 4 months I trained, lifted, ran 2 half marathons, shot probably 1k to 2k arrows, studied elk scoring online, read every book I could get my hands on regarding elk hunting in the rut, etc. Every night when I went to bed I saw elk antlers lol.
I put in the time, preparation, etc. I made the 12 hour drive down for a scouting trip in late july and got some great bulls on film. I sent private messages to every guy I could find online who had drawn this tag in the past.
I put in my homework and prep time. I was not cocky, but I knew deep down that I had probably LITERALLY spend more time training physically and studying maps and google earth than anyone of the other guys who had the tag.
I would be joined on my hunt by my best friend growing up who drove in from Texas. He was also in very good physical shape but had NEVER hunted before. He was there to help film my hunt and enjoy the experience with me.
Long story short, or at least shorter lol, we hunted our GUTS out for 7 full days and I could not believe it but when I was driving home after the hunt my truck bed did not contain a large set of antlers and the 3 giant coolers I brought were empty. I was, in a word, heart broken. I had pictured the hunt all summer, and this was not how I visualized it ending. Even now, about once or twice a month, I comment to my wife "I still cannot believe I did not tag a bull on my NM hunt". She laughs at me and says I am obsessed. I agree with her that I am obsessed and let out a sigh.
I have replayed the hunt, the stalks, everything, thousands of times in my head. Over and over and over.
Guess who just drew the EXACT SAME TAG AGAIN THIS YEAR? Me. Thats right. I am almost too scared to go hunt again in fear that I fail again. I am extremely competitive and I hate losing. Dont get me wrong, the hunt 2 years ago was a TON of fun. We chased bulls, told stories from 15 years ago, and experienced new and beautiful country. From an experience and learning standpoint, my 2012 hunt was a resounding success. But the unpunched tag is still in my wallet.
So now I am trying to analyze what I can do differently. Half the reason I am posting this is to kind of get the disappointment off my shoulders so I can move on positively and focused. The other half is I would love feedback and advice from those who have more experience hunting elk in the rut than I.
Let me describe an example of an experience that we had while hunting. This same experienced happened literally 5 or 6 times.
We find ourselves far from the road in wonderful elk country. There is elk sign everywhere and we know there are very few, if any, hunters within several canyons of us. We let out a weak bugle and a bull answers from maybe half a mile away. We would then go silent for the most part and attempt to quickly make our way towards the bugle checking the wind often. If the bull keeps bugling we wouldnt call back. Sometimes we would let out a cow call or a bugle if the elk went quiet to see where he was.
Guys I was within 150 yards of a bugling bull probably 10 times over the 7 days. It was an amazing experience. Usually, we would get setup 100 to 200 yards away from the bull and we would cow call to try to get him to come in. Several times we could even see the bull, sometimes he would be with cows other times not. Often when we cow called this is what would happen:
1 - the bull would come closer, bugling, get within 70 or 80 yards and not come any closer
2 - the bull would keep screaming but slowly take his cows out of the area
3 - the bull would bugle every little while but he and his cows wouldnt move from where they were at
So I am trying to figure out what we could have improved on. This hunt takes place from Sep 11 - 18. It is a rut hunt but obviously the last half of the hunt the elk are rutting more than the first half. Finding elk was NOT our difficulty last time. It was getting them to come to us.
I am thinking this time around I am going to try harder to get to them. One mistake that I think we made last time was that when myself and buddy would cow call we were close together. I think that this time around I will keep my caller 50 to 100 yards behind me and I will try to quietly stalk in towards the bull even as he is coming. That way hopefully he will still be thinking the cow(s) are further away and I can ambush him before he knows where we should be.
I am also wondering if i should bugle more. I had a few guys tell me that using a challenge bugle when you are in close will bring some bulls in. We focused on cow calls but man we had a heck of a time ever getting a bull to come in close. They would respond, move towards us, and hang up well outside of bow range.
I did run into a guy down there who had harvested a bull. He said his tactic was to locate the bull and then go completely quiet, stalk in to as close as he could get, within 20 or 30 yards if possible depending on the cover, and then gently cow call hoping to convince the cows with the bull that their circle of safety was a little bigger than what it was and that they may feed over towards him more. We never tried to get within 50 yards of the bull. We would generally locate the bull using a bugle or hear the bull bugle without us instigating him, move towards him, get within a couple hundred yards, and then get set up and switch to cow calling. Again, my caller was next to me as opposed to further back, that is one major thing I am going to switch up.
Anyway, I apologize about the long post. Just wanted to share my experience and hopefully get some insight or food for thought from you guys on little things I should have done differently. I still cant believe how close I was to so many bulls so many times and never let an arrow fly. I am committed to maximizing my chances of getting a different result this September. Any comments, feedback, etc would be appreciated.
Thanks fellas
"You sure you know how to skin grizz,
pilgrim?"
In 2012, I applied in New Mexico for a really good quality archery elk tag that I had about 7% odds of drawing. It as my first time really applying out of state and I told my wife when I applied that hopefully within 5 years I draw a tag. I could NOT believe it when I get the email saying I had successfully drawn! I had never had a premium tag in my hand and I was ecstatic!!! This would be my first time hunting a big bull during the rut with my bow. I have killed a few spikes and cows with my bow in Utah but never had a big bull tag.
For the next 4 months I trained, lifted, ran 2 half marathons, shot probably 1k to 2k arrows, studied elk scoring online, read every book I could get my hands on regarding elk hunting in the rut, etc. Every night when I went to bed I saw elk antlers lol.
I put in the time, preparation, etc. I made the 12 hour drive down for a scouting trip in late july and got some great bulls on film. I sent private messages to every guy I could find online who had drawn this tag in the past.
I put in my homework and prep time. I was not cocky, but I knew deep down that I had probably LITERALLY spend more time training physically and studying maps and google earth than anyone of the other guys who had the tag.
I would be joined on my hunt by my best friend growing up who drove in from Texas. He was also in very good physical shape but had NEVER hunted before. He was there to help film my hunt and enjoy the experience with me.
Long story short, or at least shorter lol, we hunted our GUTS out for 7 full days and I could not believe it but when I was driving home after the hunt my truck bed did not contain a large set of antlers and the 3 giant coolers I brought were empty. I was, in a word, heart broken. I had pictured the hunt all summer, and this was not how I visualized it ending. Even now, about once or twice a month, I comment to my wife "I still cannot believe I did not tag a bull on my NM hunt". She laughs at me and says I am obsessed. I agree with her that I am obsessed and let out a sigh.
I have replayed the hunt, the stalks, everything, thousands of times in my head. Over and over and over.
Guess who just drew the EXACT SAME TAG AGAIN THIS YEAR? Me. Thats right. I am almost too scared to go hunt again in fear that I fail again. I am extremely competitive and I hate losing. Dont get me wrong, the hunt 2 years ago was a TON of fun. We chased bulls, told stories from 15 years ago, and experienced new and beautiful country. From an experience and learning standpoint, my 2012 hunt was a resounding success. But the unpunched tag is still in my wallet.
So now I am trying to analyze what I can do differently. Half the reason I am posting this is to kind of get the disappointment off my shoulders so I can move on positively and focused. The other half is I would love feedback and advice from those who have more experience hunting elk in the rut than I.
Let me describe an example of an experience that we had while hunting. This same experienced happened literally 5 or 6 times.
We find ourselves far from the road in wonderful elk country. There is elk sign everywhere and we know there are very few, if any, hunters within several canyons of us. We let out a weak bugle and a bull answers from maybe half a mile away. We would then go silent for the most part and attempt to quickly make our way towards the bugle checking the wind often. If the bull keeps bugling we wouldnt call back. Sometimes we would let out a cow call or a bugle if the elk went quiet to see where he was.
Guys I was within 150 yards of a bugling bull probably 10 times over the 7 days. It was an amazing experience. Usually, we would get setup 100 to 200 yards away from the bull and we would cow call to try to get him to come in. Several times we could even see the bull, sometimes he would be with cows other times not. Often when we cow called this is what would happen:
1 - the bull would come closer, bugling, get within 70 or 80 yards and not come any closer
2 - the bull would keep screaming but slowly take his cows out of the area
3 - the bull would bugle every little while but he and his cows wouldnt move from where they were at
So I am trying to figure out what we could have improved on. This hunt takes place from Sep 11 - 18. It is a rut hunt but obviously the last half of the hunt the elk are rutting more than the first half. Finding elk was NOT our difficulty last time. It was getting them to come to us.
I am thinking this time around I am going to try harder to get to them. One mistake that I think we made last time was that when myself and buddy would cow call we were close together. I think that this time around I will keep my caller 50 to 100 yards behind me and I will try to quietly stalk in towards the bull even as he is coming. That way hopefully he will still be thinking the cow(s) are further away and I can ambush him before he knows where we should be.
I am also wondering if i should bugle more. I had a few guys tell me that using a challenge bugle when you are in close will bring some bulls in. We focused on cow calls but man we had a heck of a time ever getting a bull to come in close. They would respond, move towards us, and hang up well outside of bow range.
I did run into a guy down there who had harvested a bull. He said his tactic was to locate the bull and then go completely quiet, stalk in to as close as he could get, within 20 or 30 yards if possible depending on the cover, and then gently cow call hoping to convince the cows with the bull that their circle of safety was a little bigger than what it was and that they may feed over towards him more. We never tried to get within 50 yards of the bull. We would generally locate the bull using a bugle or hear the bull bugle without us instigating him, move towards him, get within a couple hundred yards, and then get set up and switch to cow calling. Again, my caller was next to me as opposed to further back, that is one major thing I am going to switch up.
Anyway, I apologize about the long post. Just wanted to share my experience and hopefully get some insight or food for thought from you guys on little things I should have done differently. I still cant believe how close I was to so many bulls so many times and never let an arrow fly. I am committed to maximizing my chances of getting a different result this September. Any comments, feedback, etc would be appreciated.
Thanks fellas
"You sure you know how to skin grizz,
pilgrim?"
